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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, U.S, March 1, 2022.
What to watch at the State of the Union
It’s time for everyone’s favorite constitutionally-mandated-but-mostly-meaningless political exercise: The State of the Union. President Joe Biden will address the nation at 9 p.m. ET before a joint session of Congress, and you can expect the theatrics of past years to continue.
The speech: The White House has not released an official preview of the president’s speech, but you can expect quite a litany: Israel and Hamas, Ukraine and Russia, migration, crime, health care, abortion – you know, the usual.
Of course, the challenge for Biden might not be what he says but how he says it. He’s fighting perceptions of senility and infirmity and will be trying to show mental acuity and physical fitness as he delivers his message.
The guests: Democrats are inviting many women who have been hurt by abortion restrictions in GOP-run states since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, including Katie Cox and Kayla Smith. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will also host 17 relatives of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, while Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) will host Intimaa Salama, who lost 35 family members in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
The Republican guest list leans more toward law enforcement, including Border Patrol Agent Brandon Budlong, and New York police officer Zunxu Tian and Lt. Ben Kurian, who were allegedly assaulted by migrants. House Speaker Mike Johnson will have the parents of detained journalist Evan Gershkovich with him.
Not in attendance: Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska and Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of late Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. The White House invited both women to sit with First Lady Jill Biden, but each cited scheduling conflicts. One thing to note: Appearing with Navalnaya may not have played so well for Zelenska at home, as Navalny was viewed with skepticism in Ukraine.
The GOP response: The often thankless task of presenting the Republican rebuttal to the president falls to Alabama Sen. Katie Britt. She’s the youngest woman ever to win a GOP Senate race (and may have the gig because senior figures spurned it). She says "hardworking parents and families" will be the focus of her rebuttal.
FILE PHOTO: Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and his lawyer Alexei Tsvetkov walk out of an office of the Investigative Committee's regional department in the city of Salekhard in the Yamal-Nenets Region, Russia, February 19, 2024.
Navalny’s body finally comes home
Russian authorities releasedAlexei Navalny’s body to his mother February 24, nine days after the opposition leader died at an Arctic penal colony. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, had been repeatedly demanding its return, accusing President Vladimir Putin of concealing evidence in Navalny’s murder.
“You tortured him alive, and now you keep torturing him dead. You mock the remains of the dead,” Yulia Navalnaya said in a video message to Putin. She also questioned Putin’s oft-professed Christian faith, saying “No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with the body of Alexei.”
What does Putin fear?
Since Navalny’s death, at least four hundred people had been detained for laying flowers and publicly expressing their grief, including 32 during commemorations on Saturday.
The concern is that these protests could multiply, according to opposition figureMikhail Khodorkovsky, "There could be large-scale confrontations in Moscow.” While so far they have not materialized, with Russian Presidential elections less than three weeks away, Putin has no interest in protests spoiling his victory party.